These kids weren’t desperate for money; they were greedy, reckless, foolhardy. And now one of them is dead. “Robbing a Miami drug dealer” is not the sort of idea that occurs to youngsters who are smart and well-balanced. Because things like this happen.

A Canadian diplomat and grieving mother released a statement to media Thursday, days after a shootout in Miami left one of her sons dead and the other in a juvenile detention centre awaiting a bail hearing on the charge of felony murder.

Roxanne Dubé, the Canadian consul general in Miami, said she and her family “would like to express our most profound thanks for the outpouring of support we have received in the last few days.

“Although we have not been able to respond to all of your messages, we want you to know that they touched us deeply.”

Miami-Dade police allege Dubé’s 17-year-old son Jean Wabafiyebazu was shot dead after he and his younger brother Marc, 15, attempted to rob two alleged drug dealers of two pounds of marijuana. Marc Wabafiyebazu has since been charged with felony murder. A third teen, Anthony Rodriguez, 19, is also behind bars.